05/27/2018 ~ Trinity Sunday ~ First Sunday After Pentecost ~ Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 ~ Memorial Day Weekend on the Secular Calendar.
Subtext
“They (that is the Seraphs) cried out to one another and said: / ‘Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh, God, the omnipotent; / the whole earth is full with the glory of God.’” — Isaiah 6:3.
I have, perhaps too often for some, mentioned my involvement with professional theater. What I am about to say concerning that involvement I have often said in private. I have not, however, mentioned this (or at least I do not remember mentioning this) from the pulpit. (Slight pause.)
While I was still in my early twenties I attended acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, a well known training ground for professional actors. In no particular order among those who have attended the American Academy over many years are Lauren Bacall, Anne Hathaway, Kim Cattrall, Anne Bancroft, Danny DeVito , Robert Redford.
There are hundreds of other attendees whose names you might recognize. My only reason to mention these few is to reiterate this is a training ground for professionals.
I now can hear you say, “But Joe, you were and are a writer, not an actor. Why did you attend classes at the American Academy?”
My reason for wanting to go there, study acting, is simple. I wanted to know what actors know about doing their job.
My premise was, if I knew how actors went about their work I, therefore, would know what I needed to know to better communicate with actors and write for actors. So, how do actors work?
I suppose this next statement is flattering to we who are writers. Actors learn they first have to work with the text, work with what is written. But there is something beyond the text, something more they need to do.
You see, no matter how good the writing is— and this next statement is not particularly flattering to we who are writers— no matter how good the writing, the text still just sits on the page. To be blunt, words— anyone’s words from Shakespeare to Shaw to Connolly— words on a page are somewhat dry, dead.
It is an actor who breathes life into the words, makes words leap off the page, fully vibrant, finds the emotions which lie therein. This is what enables the text to resonate with the audience. Hence, the next question is ‘how do actors do that?’
Actors work with what theater people call subtext. Subtext is content not announced explicitly by the words, by the characters, by the author.
This content and context is or should be implicit. Hence, it is the job of the actor to help the audience understand what is implicit in that text.
Now, I personally think it’s nearly impossible to plumb the depth of emotions with mere words. Therefore, an actor’s job is to convey what is not explicit, not literally spelled out.
You see, there are many levels to emotion and a word is simply that: a word. You can use all kinds of words to express emotion, for instance ‘joy’ or ‘anger’ or ‘hope.’ But think of how many levels can be found in each of those words, ‘joy’ or ‘anger’ or ‘hope.’ The writer can only imply what levels those emotions might reach.
The actor strives to help an audience grasp various levels, the heights and depths of these emotions. In attempting to convey those emotions an actor tries to communicate through attitude or posture or facial expression, tries to convey something about the underlying thoughts, motives, desirers of a character.
We also need to realize subtext is not hidden. It exists right there in the words, if the actor is well studied at trying to transmit the meanings found therein. (Slight pause.)
These words are recorded in the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “They (that is the Seraphs) cried out to one another and said: / ‘Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh, God, the omnipotent; / the whole earth is full with the glory of God.’” (Slight pause.)
Here is another piece of my personal history you have heard, perhaps too often for some. I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition. Hence I am quite familiar with these words from Isaiah.
The Sanctus in the Roman Mass quotes this passage. The Communion service we use here, in this church, quotes this passage. “Holy, Holy, Holy God...”
That is the simply the text. One might even say it is obvious, clear, nearly meant to be taken literally. But what is the subtext? What is underneath, hidden in the words?
That is a question we need to ask nearly every passage in Scripture: what is the subtext? Indeed, we should only rarely ask what the text literally says. Rather, we should ask ‘what does it mean?’ ‘What is the subtext telling us?’
So I’m suggesting, when it comes to Scripture, we need to work with the subtext. Like an actor works with subtext discovering emotional content— what that is, what that feels like— we need to do the same kind of work with subtext in Scripture. Why? We need to try to uncover the depth of the emotional content of the text.
So, what is the subtext here? Maybe we should we start where actors start: with the words, with the text, with what is written.
What does the word “holy” mean? Holy means worthy of respect, devotion, inspiring awe, reverence. That makes sense. After all, this is about God.
That brings me to the next word to be considered, perhaps the pivotal word in this passage: glory. The underlying Hebrew word is kabod. As is true of many Hebrew words, kabod has multiple meanings. And often meaning depends on the context.
In this context kabod— glory— means the overwhelming presence of God and the reality of the goodness of God, the love of God. In short, kabod informs us about the reality of the emotional presence of God.
That brings me back to the text. We can, indeed, be informed by the text if we understand the subtext. That is why actors do work with text. They can glean important information from it.
What I want to examine here is that seraph— that seraph touches Isaiah’s mouth with an ember, an action of purification, an eradication of guilt, corruption. But taken literally an ember on the lips sounds painful, does it not? How can that be taken in a real, literal way?
Well, that’s rather the point. What is the subtext? The subtext comes back to the word kabod which informs us about the reality of the emotional presence of God.
So it is not the ember which purifies. No mere action purifies. It is God— the reality of the emotional presence of God— it is God Who purifies. (Slight pause.)
Do me a favor? Please let the emotional content of that statement sink in for a minute. It is God who purifies. That is the subtext. Yes, a writer might say an ember touched to lips brings purification. But is that what’s really happening?
No. This episode is merely a way to illustrate what a story means. The reality of the story, if you would the subtext of the story says God alone, God Who is holy, purifies. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to the Sanctus, this use of the words from the Prophet Isaiah in the Roman Mass, words used when we celebrate the Sacrament of Communion here. Why use Isaiah there, in that place, in what to some is the most sacred of rituals? What does it mean that we use these words as Communion is celebrated? (Slight pause.)
These words are there because of what the subtext says. God purifies. God purifies around the table.
The overwhelming presence of God, the love of God, should rivet our emotional attention when we experience the Sacrament. And unless we know the subtext we do not even know this is about emotions— our emotional attachment to God and the emotional attachment of God to humanity.
There is another item to add. The passage offered this morning ends with the words “Here am I; send me!” Why? That is the emotional result of the subtext. God loves us so much that we respond by loving God. (Slight pause.)
I believe life, especially emotional life, is lived in the subtext. Mere words cannot fully describe our emotions. Actions, reactions, interactions— the subtext of life— this is where our life, our emotional life, is really lived. (Slight pause.)
Well, here’s something else you have heard me say, perhaps too often for some. God loves us and wants to covenant with us. God invites us to love one another.
That, my friends, is the subtext of all of Scripture. That, my friends, is the subtext of life. God loves us and wants to covenant with us. God invites us to love one another.
So here’s a final thing you have heard me say, perhaps too often for some. Love God. Love neighbor. Amen.
05/27/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “At the very start of this service you heard it said today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. That God is One and that God is Three is the basic tenet of the faith. But that is merely a description, words. The God of our faith— creator, redeemer, sanctifier— is a loving God, is a God Who engages our emotions, a God Who engages our emotional life. And emotions cannot be defined with mere words.”
BENEDICTION: We are people of the Spirit. We are children of God bearing witness to God’s love, truth, justice, equity and peace each day. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, and the presence of the Spirit of Christ which is real and available, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge, love and companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Sunday, May 20, 2018
SERMON ~ 05/20/2018 ~ Day of Pentecost ~ Inter-generational Sunday.
05/20/2018 ~ Day of Pentecost ~ *Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 ~ Inter-generational Sunday.
Hearing in Tongues
My name is Peter. The day of Pentecost is a Jewish feast. We call it Shavuot. The feast commemorates the day God gave the Torah, the teachings, to Israel.
You may have heard from many people about something special which happened on that day— Pentecost— 2,000 years ago. I was there. Over the course of many years this is how I, Peter, have told the story of what happened on that day. (Slight pause.)
{1} When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. {2} And suddenly there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were. (The participants in inter-generational service make a sound like wind.) {3} Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and a tongue came to rest on each one of them. (The participants in inter-generational service wave streamers over their heads.) {4} All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (The participants in inter-generational service speak in several languages simultaneously.)
{5} Now there were devout people from every nation living in Jerusalem. {6} And at this sound, which was like the rush of a violent wind (again the sounds of wind are heard), a crowd gathered. They were bewildered to hear their native languages being spoken. {7} Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Surely all these people speaking are Galileans. {8} How does it happen that each of us hears these words in our own native language?” [1] (Slight pause.)
As I just said, that is how I tell the story. But that story, is really just me reciting words. I need to, I want tell you what my experience of that day was like. But I can’t.
You see, when I said there was a sound like the rush of a violent wind— that was a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
When I said tongues of fire came to rest on each of us— that was a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
When I said we began to speak in other languages— that’s a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
However when I said we were, all of us, filled with the Holy Spirit— that is exactly what I mean. Suddenly for us God’s teaching, God’s Torah, became clear, became real.
And what is the teaching God has for us? The teaching God has for us is simple: we are to love one another. Jesus said that to us over and over and over again. And the teaching of God seemed alive in Jesus, was alive in Jesus. And we... and we... did not hear.
And now... now the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts, our being, with the reality of God’s Word, the Words of Jesus, the words Jesus said to us about loving one another. You see, when the Holy Sprit fills the hearts, fills the being of people, they not only listen, they hear.
And so it was on that day of Shavuot, the day of Pentecost, the day that reminds us of the teachings of God, because of the presence of the Spirit of God, that we remembered what Jesus said, what Jesus told us. Love one another.
It’s like this— when we really love one another we are empowered. We are empowered... we are empowered to hear what other people say, what they mean, what their experience is.
Indeed, did you hear what some people said several minutes ago. There was a boy afraid to go to school because other children laughed. That boy was afraid of being not good enough. And there was a young girl from Thailand, locked in a room, working 16 hours a day making toys.
Another person called themselves lucky— lucky because they had a job. But that person was fearful also. They had fear about downsizing, fear about overwork, fear about not seeing their own children, fear about how much life— life— takes out of each of us, even fear about not being able to leave a job— there might be no other work after all.
There was a woman who lived in Kenya, worked 18 hours a day, every day, cooking, cleaning, getting water, caring for her children, tending her garden. Yet this woman realized many considered her to be of no importance.
And yes, there are indigenous people in many countries who were promised lands, lands of their own. And yes, the land does belong to everyone, the land, the plants, the animals. These all need to be shared— shared by everyone. When we all share that is true justice.
This is clear: we all know there have been atrocities, people herded into railway cars, die in concentration camps. What we humans have done to each other is real, hurtful, frightening. [2] (Slight pause.)
And so, how do we fix that? We fix that by listening to what Jesus said; we fix that by doing the will of God; we fix that by loving one another.
We fix that by being aware there is no need to speak in tongues; there is a need to listen in tongues. We need to listen to one another, hear one another. We need to be aware of the cacophony of voices crying out for help, for love, for solace. (Slight pause.)
My name is Peter. The day of Pentecost is Shavuot, the feast that commemorates the day God gave the Torah, the teachings, to us. And this is what the Torah teaches, this is what God teaches, this is what Jesus teaches: hear in tongues.
Love one another. Love one another and we will know, we will be aware, that the Spirit of God is with us, now, forever, walking at our side... if... we... but... hear in tongues. God is still speaking. (At this point the preacher sits on the chancel steps.) [3]
05/20/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “This is a quote from the book Credo, written by the famous preacher William Sloan Coffin: ‘The whole world is your new neighborhood and all who dwell therein— black, white, yellow, red, stuffed and starving, smart and stupid, mighty and lowly, criminal and self respecting... all become your sisters and brothers in the new family formed by Jesus. By joining a church you declare your individuality in the most radical way in order to affirm community on the widest possible scale.’”
BENEDICTION: Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage, hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing always in the power of the Holy Spirit. Be blessed with courage, faith, joy, peace. Amen.
[1] Acts 2:1-8, Inclusive Language Version. The verse numbers have been left in the text.
[2] This was “Inter-generational Sunday.” Many people young and old were involved. Earlier different people took on different parts and played each of the characters mentioned below. What was said was simply being reflected in the sermon. Therefore, what follows is an edited version of those words which said by those participants.
Participant # 1: There are many in our world today who have felt like the Hebrew people did in exile, lifeless, abandoned and with little sign of hope. Let’s hear from some of them now.
# 2: I am a boy, afraid to go to school. Other children laugh at me. I can’t seem to do anything right. Even when I try, it’s never good enough. I feel like giving up.
# 3: I am a young girl who lives in Thailand. My parents sent me to live in the city so I could make money to help support my family. But I am locked in a room, and I hardly ever get out, and I work 16 hours a day making toys.#4: I’m one of the lucky ones I guess. I still have a job. But with all the downsizing, I do the work of 3 people. I’m always tired. I hardly ever see my kids. I hate the job, but I’m afraid to leave it. I don’t know what else I could do.
# 5: I live in Kenya. Like other women here I work 18 hours a day, every day, cooking, cleaning, getting water, caring for my children, gardening. Yet I am considered to be of no importance.
# 6: My people, the indigenous people of this country, were promised lands in a treaty that was to last forever. Now some of those lands, the plants and animals, the bones of our ancestors, are drowned under a lake for electric power to feed the big cities, our rivers polluted, fish gone. We cannot wait for justice forever.
#7: It’s so long ago, now. I was just a young Jewish child. My family, herded into railway cars, separated forever, everyone I ever know died in concentration camps.
[3] Needless to say, often a pastor closes what is said with “Amen.” In this case another one of the participants closed this:
“It says in Acts Peter spoke further about Jesus and his life, death and resurrection. The visitors were greatly moved and believed his message. They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers. This is how the Christian Church began 2,000 years ago: hearing in tongues. The Spirit that empowered the disciples long ago is the same Spirit that dwells in each of us and guides us in spreading God’s love. Amen and again amen!”
Hearing in Tongues
My name is Peter. The day of Pentecost is a Jewish feast. We call it Shavuot. The feast commemorates the day God gave the Torah, the teachings, to Israel.
You may have heard from many people about something special which happened on that day— Pentecost— 2,000 years ago. I was there. Over the course of many years this is how I, Peter, have told the story of what happened on that day. (Slight pause.)
{1} When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. {2} And suddenly there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were. (The participants in inter-generational service make a sound like wind.) {3} Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and a tongue came to rest on each one of them. (The participants in inter-generational service wave streamers over their heads.) {4} All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (The participants in inter-generational service speak in several languages simultaneously.)
{5} Now there were devout people from every nation living in Jerusalem. {6} And at this sound, which was like the rush of a violent wind (again the sounds of wind are heard), a crowd gathered. They were bewildered to hear their native languages being spoken. {7} Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Surely all these people speaking are Galileans. {8} How does it happen that each of us hears these words in our own native language?” [1] (Slight pause.)
As I just said, that is how I tell the story. But that story, is really just me reciting words. I need to, I want tell you what my experience of that day was like. But I can’t.
You see, when I said there was a sound like the rush of a violent wind— that was a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
When I said tongues of fire came to rest on each of us— that was a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
When I said we began to speak in other languages— that’s a metaphor. Was it really like that? No. It was not. My experience, the experience of all of us, cannot be described with mere words.
However when I said we were, all of us, filled with the Holy Spirit— that is exactly what I mean. Suddenly for us God’s teaching, God’s Torah, became clear, became real.
And what is the teaching God has for us? The teaching God has for us is simple: we are to love one another. Jesus said that to us over and over and over again. And the teaching of God seemed alive in Jesus, was alive in Jesus. And we... and we... did not hear.
And now... now the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts, our being, with the reality of God’s Word, the Words of Jesus, the words Jesus said to us about loving one another. You see, when the Holy Sprit fills the hearts, fills the being of people, they not only listen, they hear.
And so it was on that day of Shavuot, the day of Pentecost, the day that reminds us of the teachings of God, because of the presence of the Spirit of God, that we remembered what Jesus said, what Jesus told us. Love one another.
It’s like this— when we really love one another we are empowered. We are empowered... we are empowered to hear what other people say, what they mean, what their experience is.
Indeed, did you hear what some people said several minutes ago. There was a boy afraid to go to school because other children laughed. That boy was afraid of being not good enough. And there was a young girl from Thailand, locked in a room, working 16 hours a day making toys.
Another person called themselves lucky— lucky because they had a job. But that person was fearful also. They had fear about downsizing, fear about overwork, fear about not seeing their own children, fear about how much life— life— takes out of each of us, even fear about not being able to leave a job— there might be no other work after all.
There was a woman who lived in Kenya, worked 18 hours a day, every day, cooking, cleaning, getting water, caring for her children, tending her garden. Yet this woman realized many considered her to be of no importance.
And yes, there are indigenous people in many countries who were promised lands, lands of their own. And yes, the land does belong to everyone, the land, the plants, the animals. These all need to be shared— shared by everyone. When we all share that is true justice.
This is clear: we all know there have been atrocities, people herded into railway cars, die in concentration camps. What we humans have done to each other is real, hurtful, frightening. [2] (Slight pause.)
And so, how do we fix that? We fix that by listening to what Jesus said; we fix that by doing the will of God; we fix that by loving one another.
We fix that by being aware there is no need to speak in tongues; there is a need to listen in tongues. We need to listen to one another, hear one another. We need to be aware of the cacophony of voices crying out for help, for love, for solace. (Slight pause.)
My name is Peter. The day of Pentecost is Shavuot, the feast that commemorates the day God gave the Torah, the teachings, to us. And this is what the Torah teaches, this is what God teaches, this is what Jesus teaches: hear in tongues.
Love one another. Love one another and we will know, we will be aware, that the Spirit of God is with us, now, forever, walking at our side... if... we... but... hear in tongues. God is still speaking. (At this point the preacher sits on the chancel steps.) [3]
05/20/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “This is a quote from the book Credo, written by the famous preacher William Sloan Coffin: ‘The whole world is your new neighborhood and all who dwell therein— black, white, yellow, red, stuffed and starving, smart and stupid, mighty and lowly, criminal and self respecting... all become your sisters and brothers in the new family formed by Jesus. By joining a church you declare your individuality in the most radical way in order to affirm community on the widest possible scale.’”
BENEDICTION: Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage, hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing always in the power of the Holy Spirit. Be blessed with courage, faith, joy, peace. Amen.
[1] Acts 2:1-8, Inclusive Language Version. The verse numbers have been left in the text.
[2] This was “Inter-generational Sunday.” Many people young and old were involved. Earlier different people took on different parts and played each of the characters mentioned below. What was said was simply being reflected in the sermon. Therefore, what follows is an edited version of those words which said by those participants.
Participant # 1: There are many in our world today who have felt like the Hebrew people did in exile, lifeless, abandoned and with little sign of hope. Let’s hear from some of them now.
# 2: I am a boy, afraid to go to school. Other children laugh at me. I can’t seem to do anything right. Even when I try, it’s never good enough. I feel like giving up.
# 3: I am a young girl who lives in Thailand. My parents sent me to live in the city so I could make money to help support my family. But I am locked in a room, and I hardly ever get out, and I work 16 hours a day making toys.#4: I’m one of the lucky ones I guess. I still have a job. But with all the downsizing, I do the work of 3 people. I’m always tired. I hardly ever see my kids. I hate the job, but I’m afraid to leave it. I don’t know what else I could do.
# 5: I live in Kenya. Like other women here I work 18 hours a day, every day, cooking, cleaning, getting water, caring for my children, gardening. Yet I am considered to be of no importance.
# 6: My people, the indigenous people of this country, were promised lands in a treaty that was to last forever. Now some of those lands, the plants and animals, the bones of our ancestors, are drowned under a lake for electric power to feed the big cities, our rivers polluted, fish gone. We cannot wait for justice forever.
#7: It’s so long ago, now. I was just a young Jewish child. My family, herded into railway cars, separated forever, everyone I ever know died in concentration camps.
[3] Needless to say, often a pastor closes what is said with “Amen.” In this case another one of the participants closed this:
“It says in Acts Peter spoke further about Jesus and his life, death and resurrection. The visitors were greatly moved and believed his message. They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers. This is how the Christian Church began 2,000 years ago: hearing in tongues. The Spirit that empowered the disciples long ago is the same Spirit that dwells in each of us and guides us in spreading God’s love. Amen and again amen!”
Sunday, May 13, 2018
SERMON ~ 05/13/2018 ~ Seventh Sunday of Easter ~ “Cultural Myths; Cultural Falsehoods”
05/13/2018 ~ Seventh Sunday of Easter ~ (If Ascension not observed here) ~ *Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19 ~ Mother’s Day on the Secular Calendar ~ Also the Ascension of the Christ ~ *Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53; Note: used Acts 1:12-17, 21-26 and Luke 24:44-53 ~ Bells Playing.
Cultural Myths; Cultural Falsehoods
“Also in their company were some of the women who followed Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as some of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. With one mind, together, they devoted themselves to constant prayer.” — Acts 1:14.
Here’s a warning about my comments today: they rely heavily on some obscure history of the 1950s and 60s. You’ve been warned now. I hope to make it as entertaining as possible. O.K.? (Slight pause.)
You have heard me say hundreds of times I was born and grew up in New York City. Other than my time in the Army I lived nowhere else until I was 40. Given my age, that means my single digit and teen years were obviously spent in that city in the 1950s and 1960s.
In that era one of the important metropolitan radio stations was WOR. It began broadcasting in 1922 and is one of the oldest commercial radio operations in America. It is so old it had only those three call letters— WOR— not the more ususal four.
In the 50s and 60s the station was doing something most people think was invented in the 1990s. The format WOR used back then was what we today call talk radio.
Now, I know the names I am about to rattle off will be meaningless to many of you. Take my word for this: they were well known celebrities in the 50s and 60s.
The WOR morning show was Rambling with Gambling which aired continuously from March 1925 to September 2000 across three generations of hosts. John B. Gambling was the first host. He handed it over to a son, John A. Gambling, who was followed by grandson John R. Gambling.
Throughout the day the WOR airwaves were filled with people who simply talked. After the Gambling show came Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick.
Dorothy Kilgallen and Richard (Dick) Kollmar were a high profile couple. Kilgallen was a well known reporter who came to prominence in the 1930s covering notorious crime cases. Kollmar was a Broadway producer.
The broadcast originated in their apartment on East 68th Street. At the breakfast table each day— breakfast served by their butler, Julius— they talked about any high society event they attended the previous night and/or chatted with celebrity friends.
I hope you realize that kind of talk radio has simply moved to television. This is essentially what you get these days on Live, The View, The Talk— pretty much the same idea in daytime television— smart people saying smart things about what’s happening, interviews of celebrity guests, news-makers. Indeed, cable is called cable news but it’s really cable talk.
Back to WOR for a moment— some of you might remember a celerity named Arlene Francis. Along with Kilgallen she was a panelist on the television program What’s My Line in the 1950s right through the 1970s and did stints on the NBC radio and televison networks. She also had a talk show on WOR. [1]
I once heard her interview an author. I do not, unfortunately, remember the fellows name. His parents were in the foreign service.
When he was young, he said, his parents got moved to a different location every two years. Moving every two years is still a common practice in the foreign service.
In any case he therefore and obviously attended a grade school in a different country about every two years. His parents, thinking the experience would be good for him, always placed him a local school. They wanted him to be exposed to what was happening in the country in which they were serving, exposed to the local culture.
What he said about this educational journey in different countries stuck with me and still fascinates me today. He said when the lessons turned to looking at the history of the country in which he currently resided, it became evident the same exact and singular message got transmitted in every last classroom in every last country.
Here’s the message: in whatever country he sat, that country considered itself the center of the world, the center of the universe, the most important country on the planet. Even at a very young age it did not take him long to figure out this was a cultural myth.
He also figured out it was simply false— a cultural truth perhaps— a cultural truth perhaps— but factually false. After all, each and every one of these countries could not possibly be the most important country on the planet. Could it? (Slight pause.)
These words are from Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Acts: “Also in their company were some of the women who followed Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as some of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. With one mind, together, they devoted themselves to constant prayer.” (Slight pause.)
The example I just gave— that each of those countries believed it was the center of the universe— is an illustration of ‘confirmation bias.’ Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, recall information in a way that confirms one’s own preexisting beliefs.
People display confirmation bias when they gather or remember information selectively or interpret it in a biased way. Here’s the short version: when confirmation bias sets in people will simply pay no attention to fact.
And sometimes they will pay no attention to a fact in an irrational way. Here’s the fact; oh, I won’t pay attention even thought this might hurt me— irrational. they will pay no attention to a fact in an irrational way and then bias takes charge. [2] Indeed, that the country in which you happen to live is the greatest in the world, the center of the universe, fits right in with that concept.
But how does that concept fit in with the passage from Acts? This is a given: we all have opinions about Scripture. I plead guilty on that count.
However, it is also true sometimes those opinions fall prey to confirmation bias, especially cultural bias. It would be foolish of me to not plead guilty on that count also.
However, one of the things I try to do— I’m not always successful but I try— is to leave any confirmation bias I might bring to the study of Scripture aside. Indeed, I try to do that and I hope my journey into a Scriptural passage is as free from confirmation bias, cultural bias, as I can possibly make it.
As to our confirmation bias, bias we might have which is rooted in the cultural— tell me, how often have you seen a picture depicting Jesus. And how often in the pictures you’ve seen is Jesus displayed as being tall with blue eyes and blond hair? Really? Christ with blue eyes and blond hair?
Do you know where Jesus was born? And tall? Five foot eight would have been considered very tall 2000 years ago.
That brings me to the fact that this passage clearly states Jesus had brothers and sisters. What? Jesus had brothers and sisters?
I suspect a lot of people simply ignore those words. Why? Unless I am mistaken there is a specific cultural bias rooted in conformation bias about Jesus which says Jesus was an only child.
Therefore, some people refuse to believe these words are there or exist because many people have that cultural belief, that preconceived notion, that Jesus was an only child. Hence, these words cannot possibly be there. Right? (Slight pause.)
My next point should be obvious. I want to suggest the writers of Scripture were not immune from cultural bias. Sometimes it’s easy to pick out that cultural bias. For instance, there is readily identifiable cultural bias in some of the letters attributed to the Apostle Paul.
But there are letters attributed to Paul which we know were written after Paul was dead. These are what scholars call the Deutero-Pauline letters.
Much more than Paul ever did, those later works written by others enshrine the patriarchal system of Rome as the only appropriate social structure. However, the true writings of Paul name specific women among the leadership of the early church. That would not happen in the Roman patriarchal system. But Paul approves of women in leadership.
So, that there is identifiable bias found in the text and that we, ourselves, bring bias to the text and impose it on the text leads to one key question. Given those factors what should our take-away from Scripture be? Put another way, can we identify the bias of God? (Slight pause.)
I hope after my years of preaching here you might be able to answer that question since what I am about to say is the answer I have often offered. The bias of God is simple to state. God loves us. God want to covenant with us.
Indeed, I have said this here before. If for us the love of God does not leap off each page of Scripture then we are reading it wrong.
And the true bias of God is not just that God loves us and wants to covenant with us. God invites us to walk in ways of faith, sharing peace, joy, freedom, equity, hope, trust, love with all people— that’s all people, perhaps not just the ones in our country, the center of the universe.
This is the bias of God: love all people. This is what God wants for us: walk in ways of faith, sharing peace, joy, freedom, equity, hope, trust, love with all people. Amen.
05/13/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “We humans live with an interesting tension. It’s the tension of needing to be individuals, needing to be ourselves, needing to be who we are and living in community because we need community. There is no question about that. But when we have community the question arises: ‘How do we fit in? How do we make that work?’ And I think that’s certainly one of the issues that is raised by Scripture.”
BENEDICTION: The work and the will of God is placed before us. Further, we are called to be faithful and seek to do God’s will and work. In so doing, may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
[1] This is based on my memories but support can be found at these places:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOR_%28AM%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Francis
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
Cultural Myths; Cultural Falsehoods
“Also in their company were some of the women who followed Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as some of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. With one mind, together, they devoted themselves to constant prayer.” — Acts 1:14.
Here’s a warning about my comments today: they rely heavily on some obscure history of the 1950s and 60s. You’ve been warned now. I hope to make it as entertaining as possible. O.K.? (Slight pause.)
You have heard me say hundreds of times I was born and grew up in New York City. Other than my time in the Army I lived nowhere else until I was 40. Given my age, that means my single digit and teen years were obviously spent in that city in the 1950s and 1960s.
In that era one of the important metropolitan radio stations was WOR. It began broadcasting in 1922 and is one of the oldest commercial radio operations in America. It is so old it had only those three call letters— WOR— not the more ususal four.
In the 50s and 60s the station was doing something most people think was invented in the 1990s. The format WOR used back then was what we today call talk radio.
Now, I know the names I am about to rattle off will be meaningless to many of you. Take my word for this: they were well known celebrities in the 50s and 60s.
The WOR morning show was Rambling with Gambling which aired continuously from March 1925 to September 2000 across three generations of hosts. John B. Gambling was the first host. He handed it over to a son, John A. Gambling, who was followed by grandson John R. Gambling.
Throughout the day the WOR airwaves were filled with people who simply talked. After the Gambling show came Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick.
Dorothy Kilgallen and Richard (Dick) Kollmar were a high profile couple. Kilgallen was a well known reporter who came to prominence in the 1930s covering notorious crime cases. Kollmar was a Broadway producer.
The broadcast originated in their apartment on East 68th Street. At the breakfast table each day— breakfast served by their butler, Julius— they talked about any high society event they attended the previous night and/or chatted with celebrity friends.
I hope you realize that kind of talk radio has simply moved to television. This is essentially what you get these days on Live, The View, The Talk— pretty much the same idea in daytime television— smart people saying smart things about what’s happening, interviews of celebrity guests, news-makers. Indeed, cable is called cable news but it’s really cable talk.
Back to WOR for a moment— some of you might remember a celerity named Arlene Francis. Along with Kilgallen she was a panelist on the television program What’s My Line in the 1950s right through the 1970s and did stints on the NBC radio and televison networks. She also had a talk show on WOR. [1]
I once heard her interview an author. I do not, unfortunately, remember the fellows name. His parents were in the foreign service.
When he was young, he said, his parents got moved to a different location every two years. Moving every two years is still a common practice in the foreign service.
In any case he therefore and obviously attended a grade school in a different country about every two years. His parents, thinking the experience would be good for him, always placed him a local school. They wanted him to be exposed to what was happening in the country in which they were serving, exposed to the local culture.
What he said about this educational journey in different countries stuck with me and still fascinates me today. He said when the lessons turned to looking at the history of the country in which he currently resided, it became evident the same exact and singular message got transmitted in every last classroom in every last country.
Here’s the message: in whatever country he sat, that country considered itself the center of the world, the center of the universe, the most important country on the planet. Even at a very young age it did not take him long to figure out this was a cultural myth.
He also figured out it was simply false— a cultural truth perhaps— a cultural truth perhaps— but factually false. After all, each and every one of these countries could not possibly be the most important country on the planet. Could it? (Slight pause.)
These words are from Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Acts: “Also in their company were some of the women who followed Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as some of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. With one mind, together, they devoted themselves to constant prayer.” (Slight pause.)
The example I just gave— that each of those countries believed it was the center of the universe— is an illustration of ‘confirmation bias.’ Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, recall information in a way that confirms one’s own preexisting beliefs.
People display confirmation bias when they gather or remember information selectively or interpret it in a biased way. Here’s the short version: when confirmation bias sets in people will simply pay no attention to fact.
And sometimes they will pay no attention to a fact in an irrational way. Here’s the fact; oh, I won’t pay attention even thought this might hurt me— irrational. they will pay no attention to a fact in an irrational way and then bias takes charge. [2] Indeed, that the country in which you happen to live is the greatest in the world, the center of the universe, fits right in with that concept.
But how does that concept fit in with the passage from Acts? This is a given: we all have opinions about Scripture. I plead guilty on that count.
However, it is also true sometimes those opinions fall prey to confirmation bias, especially cultural bias. It would be foolish of me to not plead guilty on that count also.
However, one of the things I try to do— I’m not always successful but I try— is to leave any confirmation bias I might bring to the study of Scripture aside. Indeed, I try to do that and I hope my journey into a Scriptural passage is as free from confirmation bias, cultural bias, as I can possibly make it.
As to our confirmation bias, bias we might have which is rooted in the cultural— tell me, how often have you seen a picture depicting Jesus. And how often in the pictures you’ve seen is Jesus displayed as being tall with blue eyes and blond hair? Really? Christ with blue eyes and blond hair?
Do you know where Jesus was born? And tall? Five foot eight would have been considered very tall 2000 years ago.
That brings me to the fact that this passage clearly states Jesus had brothers and sisters. What? Jesus had brothers and sisters?
I suspect a lot of people simply ignore those words. Why? Unless I am mistaken there is a specific cultural bias rooted in conformation bias about Jesus which says Jesus was an only child.
Therefore, some people refuse to believe these words are there or exist because many people have that cultural belief, that preconceived notion, that Jesus was an only child. Hence, these words cannot possibly be there. Right? (Slight pause.)
My next point should be obvious. I want to suggest the writers of Scripture were not immune from cultural bias. Sometimes it’s easy to pick out that cultural bias. For instance, there is readily identifiable cultural bias in some of the letters attributed to the Apostle Paul.
But there are letters attributed to Paul which we know were written after Paul was dead. These are what scholars call the Deutero-Pauline letters.
Much more than Paul ever did, those later works written by others enshrine the patriarchal system of Rome as the only appropriate social structure. However, the true writings of Paul name specific women among the leadership of the early church. That would not happen in the Roman patriarchal system. But Paul approves of women in leadership.
So, that there is identifiable bias found in the text and that we, ourselves, bring bias to the text and impose it on the text leads to one key question. Given those factors what should our take-away from Scripture be? Put another way, can we identify the bias of God? (Slight pause.)
I hope after my years of preaching here you might be able to answer that question since what I am about to say is the answer I have often offered. The bias of God is simple to state. God loves us. God want to covenant with us.
Indeed, I have said this here before. If for us the love of God does not leap off each page of Scripture then we are reading it wrong.
And the true bias of God is not just that God loves us and wants to covenant with us. God invites us to walk in ways of faith, sharing peace, joy, freedom, equity, hope, trust, love with all people— that’s all people, perhaps not just the ones in our country, the center of the universe.
This is the bias of God: love all people. This is what God wants for us: walk in ways of faith, sharing peace, joy, freedom, equity, hope, trust, love with all people. Amen.
05/13/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “We humans live with an interesting tension. It’s the tension of needing to be individuals, needing to be ourselves, needing to be who we are and living in community because we need community. There is no question about that. But when we have community the question arises: ‘How do we fit in? How do we make that work?’ And I think that’s certainly one of the issues that is raised by Scripture.”
BENEDICTION: The work and the will of God is placed before us. Further, we are called to be faithful and seek to do God’s will and work. In so doing, may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
[1] This is based on my memories but support can be found at these places:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOR_%28AM%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlene_Francis
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
Sunday, May 6, 2018
SERMON ~ 05/06/2018 ~ Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ “Whence the Spirit?”
READINGS: 05/06/2018 ~ Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ *Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17 ~ Communion Sunday.
Whence the Spirit?
“Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’” — Acts 10:46b-47.
I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: life is unpredictable. I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: as we live through our time, more often than we like, life demands we take risk.
I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: very few of us like to take risks. We like control.
One could argue I have taken a lot of risks in my life. If that is true— that I am a risk taker— it could be a result of my experience in my family of origin. I will I HOPE not go deep into detail about this because I have done so before.
But for those of you who have never heard this story about my childhood, let me offer a short version. I profoundly apologize to those who have heard this before. I hope it does not bore you too much.
When I was about five years old my father had what was in that era called a nervous breakdown. Today the condition would have been diagnosed as the onset of a mental illness labeled as passive dependency, sometimes called passive aggression.
One of a myriad consequences for me is at a very young age my father figure left the scene. From a Freudian perspective one of a myriad of functions a father figure provides for children is a sense of order along with the safety we feel order brings.
This is not to say father figures are a necessity. Many get along without a father figure quite well. I did. But it is to say, in my case at least, I developed a degree of comfort with the idea that life might lean more toward the chaotic than the ordered.
Equally, since I identified true safety as at best a possibility but perhaps unrealistic, I became inclined toward taking risks. To illustrate, I’ll offer some of my later life story which again, many of you have heard. That chaos and risk were going to be a part of my existence got reinforced in my late teens since I was drafted and wound up in Vietnam, where chaos and risk were a given.
For the next 20 years on an off I worked in professional theater as a writer— theater where risks are a given. What risks? How do you earn enough to put food on the table and how do you effectively communicate through art? To paraphrase the words of the late artist Al Hirshfield, the product we artists sell no one really needs to buy.
Let’s move the clock ahead a full 20 years. I meet Bonnie. She lives in Maine. I live in New York City.
I move to Maine to marry Bonnie. I don’t even know how to drive but I move to Maine where the only subways are sandwich shops. Yes, I think that was a risk.
Move the clock ahead yet again 4 years. At age 44 I hear the call to Seminary. Now at age 44 Seminary is a risk. I invite Bonnie to take that risk with me.
Praise God, she does. And yes— I, for one, count that as a expression of true love— a willingness to take a risk with a risk taker.
And then, and then— we take another risk together. Four years later we find ourselves in a place Norwich, New York. We had visited here only once for several days, meet with the search committee and looked around town before we took that risk.
And yes, we have been here for quite some time. Just the very length of time spent here has brought order to our lives. But now we shall be embarking on another risk in fourteen months— retiring, moving back to Maine.
I want to say two things about retiring and moving back to Maine, both of which are simply honest. First, retirement and the very thought of moving after 20 years plus here frightens the living daylights out of me. All kinds of things could go wrong.
Second, yes— this too is a risk, a big one. You might suggest it is a necessary risk. I would agree. Necessity does not make it a smaller risk. (Slight pause.)
This is found in Luke/Acts in the section of that work known as Acts. “Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’” (Slight pause.)
Recently I was in a conversation with a group of pastors. One of them expressed a very specific concern.
People in congregations seemed to be expressing fear of all kinds. These range from a fear about what’s happening in politics, to fear about their own source of income, their jobs, to fear about people who are not a member of their own group. And yes— there is fear about the church, about congregational vitality.
In response I suggested two things. Whatever you see going on in society outside the walls of a church building will be seen inside the walls of a church building.
The church is not immune to what’s happening in the culture. And right now what we see in the culture is wide-spread fear.
Second, I suggested fear is not the root, the cause. It’s a reaction, a symptom, a result, rather than a cause. People, I said to the group, people become afraid about a broad range of things for one reason and one reason only.
People become afraid when they feel they are not in control. When you are not in control, taking a risk is a given. And as I said earlier, taking risk, therefore by definition not being in control, is something with which we humans have a hard time.
Well, as if to reaffirm that thought, I came across an interesting piece of data this week. A poll was released which showed an amazing result.
People on the political left and people on the political right both think they are on the losing side in our society. Yes, both sides think they are losing— simply amazing.
I want to suggest all that poll really shows is not the fact that one side or the other thinks they are losing. It shows us people are afraid of losing. But I also want to suggest the possibility of losing turns into fear because we think losing means we are not in control. (Slight pause.)
The Rev. Dr. Emily Heath will be the speaker at the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ Annual Meeting this year. Her most recent book is Courageous Faith.
Not too far into this work Heath brings up a human reaction to risk most of us have probably heard about. The response is commonly called flight or fight. She points out there is another response those who research these things have recently agreed on: freeze.
So, one’s response to risk can be flight or fight or freeze. Heath then goes on to delineate, describe what she calls a Christian reaction. She says we need to respond to the world and the reality we see in the world with action— moral action. And moral action is the place to which God invites us.
I’m not sure why she fails to use another word beginning with the letter ‘F’ to reenforce the alliteration of the ‘flight,’ ‘fight’ and ‘freeze’— that combination. I shall a word with an ‘F.’
I say the Christian response to the risk that is the reality of the world is ‘forward’— flight, flight, freeze, forward. We need to move forward, strive to listen to God, work toward the world God sees, work with the arc of moral justice envisioned by God, cooperate with God, with the Spirit of God, God Who we, as Christians, believe is present among us.
Put another way— yes, yes— Christians do assess risk. But we also seek to find the places to which God calls us. And I would suggest God calls us to places where risk is real, tangible. Or as least we humans perceive the risk in these places as real and tangible.
You see, I think we humans generally have a strange sense of what risk really is. I think we have a strange sense of what risk really is because we like to be in control. We like it when things go only our way. If the poll I quoted earlier about most people think they are on the losing side does not prove that premise, that we like to be in control, I don’t know what does.
As to the theological issue here, let me say something you have probably often heard. Just like we want to be in control, we humans like to put God in a box. We like to domesticate God, control God.
Which raises what I think of as a significant question: are we in control, really? Perhaps more to the point— do we really want to be in control? (Slight pause.)
I think we need to be willing to cooperate with God as we go forward, forward toward the freedom God seeks for us, God wants for us. If God is who we say God is— a God who seeks peace, loves justice, treasures equity, then putting God in a box will not empower us to see the world the way God sees the world. (Slight pause.)
So I guess I, for one, am a risk taker. Why? I want to move forward. I want to cooperate with the will of God, be empowered by God to seek freedom, love justice, treasure equity.
I suspect we humans need to stop trying to put God in a box. When we let God out of the box, we get to a place where the justice, the freedom, the equity, the peace, the joy, the hope, the love God wants us to have will be a reality. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
05/06/2018
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Here’s a pithy saying for you: ‘We will never change the world by going to church. We will change the world by being church.’ I want to suggest being church means we need to let God be God and we need to participate in the work of God here, now since it seems to me the world could use the justice, freedom, the equity, the peace, the joy, the hope and love of God which we, the church, claim to be about. Given what theology says about God and what God seeks for us, I think being church means taking risk.”
BENEDICTION: May the Holy Spirit inspire our words, and God’s love in Christ empower our deeds, as, in Christ, we are no longer servants, but friends, learning to love as we have been loved. And may the peace of God which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, the love of Jesus, the Christ, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forevermore. Amen.
Whence the Spirit?
“Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’” — Acts 10:46b-47.
I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: life is unpredictable. I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: as we live through our time, more often than we like, life demands we take risk.
I have lived long enough so I know this to be true: very few of us like to take risks. We like control.
One could argue I have taken a lot of risks in my life. If that is true— that I am a risk taker— it could be a result of my experience in my family of origin. I will I HOPE not go deep into detail about this because I have done so before.
But for those of you who have never heard this story about my childhood, let me offer a short version. I profoundly apologize to those who have heard this before. I hope it does not bore you too much.
When I was about five years old my father had what was in that era called a nervous breakdown. Today the condition would have been diagnosed as the onset of a mental illness labeled as passive dependency, sometimes called passive aggression.
One of a myriad consequences for me is at a very young age my father figure left the scene. From a Freudian perspective one of a myriad of functions a father figure provides for children is a sense of order along with the safety we feel order brings.
This is not to say father figures are a necessity. Many get along without a father figure quite well. I did. But it is to say, in my case at least, I developed a degree of comfort with the idea that life might lean more toward the chaotic than the ordered.
Equally, since I identified true safety as at best a possibility but perhaps unrealistic, I became inclined toward taking risks. To illustrate, I’ll offer some of my later life story which again, many of you have heard. That chaos and risk were going to be a part of my existence got reinforced in my late teens since I was drafted and wound up in Vietnam, where chaos and risk were a given.
For the next 20 years on an off I worked in professional theater as a writer— theater where risks are a given. What risks? How do you earn enough to put food on the table and how do you effectively communicate through art? To paraphrase the words of the late artist Al Hirshfield, the product we artists sell no one really needs to buy.
Let’s move the clock ahead a full 20 years. I meet Bonnie. She lives in Maine. I live in New York City.
I move to Maine to marry Bonnie. I don’t even know how to drive but I move to Maine where the only subways are sandwich shops. Yes, I think that was a risk.
Move the clock ahead yet again 4 years. At age 44 I hear the call to Seminary. Now at age 44 Seminary is a risk. I invite Bonnie to take that risk with me.
Praise God, she does. And yes— I, for one, count that as a expression of true love— a willingness to take a risk with a risk taker.
And then, and then— we take another risk together. Four years later we find ourselves in a place Norwich, New York. We had visited here only once for several days, meet with the search committee and looked around town before we took that risk.
And yes, we have been here for quite some time. Just the very length of time spent here has brought order to our lives. But now we shall be embarking on another risk in fourteen months— retiring, moving back to Maine.
I want to say two things about retiring and moving back to Maine, both of which are simply honest. First, retirement and the very thought of moving after 20 years plus here frightens the living daylights out of me. All kinds of things could go wrong.
Second, yes— this too is a risk, a big one. You might suggest it is a necessary risk. I would agree. Necessity does not make it a smaller risk. (Slight pause.)
This is found in Luke/Acts in the section of that work known as Acts. “Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’” (Slight pause.)
Recently I was in a conversation with a group of pastors. One of them expressed a very specific concern.
People in congregations seemed to be expressing fear of all kinds. These range from a fear about what’s happening in politics, to fear about their own source of income, their jobs, to fear about people who are not a member of their own group. And yes— there is fear about the church, about congregational vitality.
In response I suggested two things. Whatever you see going on in society outside the walls of a church building will be seen inside the walls of a church building.
The church is not immune to what’s happening in the culture. And right now what we see in the culture is wide-spread fear.
Second, I suggested fear is not the root, the cause. It’s a reaction, a symptom, a result, rather than a cause. People, I said to the group, people become afraid about a broad range of things for one reason and one reason only.
People become afraid when they feel they are not in control. When you are not in control, taking a risk is a given. And as I said earlier, taking risk, therefore by definition not being in control, is something with which we humans have a hard time.
Well, as if to reaffirm that thought, I came across an interesting piece of data this week. A poll was released which showed an amazing result.
People on the political left and people on the political right both think they are on the losing side in our society. Yes, both sides think they are losing— simply amazing.
I want to suggest all that poll really shows is not the fact that one side or the other thinks they are losing. It shows us people are afraid of losing. But I also want to suggest the possibility of losing turns into fear because we think losing means we are not in control. (Slight pause.)
The Rev. Dr. Emily Heath will be the speaker at the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ Annual Meeting this year. Her most recent book is Courageous Faith.
Not too far into this work Heath brings up a human reaction to risk most of us have probably heard about. The response is commonly called flight or fight. She points out there is another response those who research these things have recently agreed on: freeze.
So, one’s response to risk can be flight or fight or freeze. Heath then goes on to delineate, describe what she calls a Christian reaction. She says we need to respond to the world and the reality we see in the world with action— moral action. And moral action is the place to which God invites us.
I’m not sure why she fails to use another word beginning with the letter ‘F’ to reenforce the alliteration of the ‘flight,’ ‘fight’ and ‘freeze’— that combination. I shall a word with an ‘F.’
I say the Christian response to the risk that is the reality of the world is ‘forward’— flight, flight, freeze, forward. We need to move forward, strive to listen to God, work toward the world God sees, work with the arc of moral justice envisioned by God, cooperate with God, with the Spirit of God, God Who we, as Christians, believe is present among us.
Put another way— yes, yes— Christians do assess risk. But we also seek to find the places to which God calls us. And I would suggest God calls us to places where risk is real, tangible. Or as least we humans perceive the risk in these places as real and tangible.
You see, I think we humans generally have a strange sense of what risk really is. I think we have a strange sense of what risk really is because we like to be in control. We like it when things go only our way. If the poll I quoted earlier about most people think they are on the losing side does not prove that premise, that we like to be in control, I don’t know what does.
As to the theological issue here, let me say something you have probably often heard. Just like we want to be in control, we humans like to put God in a box. We like to domesticate God, control God.
Which raises what I think of as a significant question: are we in control, really? Perhaps more to the point— do we really want to be in control? (Slight pause.)
I think we need to be willing to cooperate with God as we go forward, forward toward the freedom God seeks for us, God wants for us. If God is who we say God is— a God who seeks peace, loves justice, treasures equity, then putting God in a box will not empower us to see the world the way God sees the world. (Slight pause.)
So I guess I, for one, am a risk taker. Why? I want to move forward. I want to cooperate with the will of God, be empowered by God to seek freedom, love justice, treasure equity.
I suspect we humans need to stop trying to put God in a box. When we let God out of the box, we get to a place where the justice, the freedom, the equity, the peace, the joy, the hope, the love God wants us to have will be a reality. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
05/06/2018
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Here’s a pithy saying for you: ‘We will never change the world by going to church. We will change the world by being church.’ I want to suggest being church means we need to let God be God and we need to participate in the work of God here, now since it seems to me the world could use the justice, freedom, the equity, the peace, the joy, the hope and love of God which we, the church, claim to be about. Given what theology says about God and what God seeks for us, I think being church means taking risk.”
BENEDICTION: May the Holy Spirit inspire our words, and God’s love in Christ empower our deeds, as, in Christ, we are no longer servants, but friends, learning to love as we have been loved. And may the peace of God which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, the love of Jesus, the Christ, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forevermore. Amen.
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